Data quality is among the most common pain points associated with marketing initiatives. For teams engaged in email marketing, programmatic marketing, or other big data-driven projects, quality issues can significantly reduce results. If your organization’s efforts to produce targeted, real-time messaging are generating poor lift, it could be important to look towards your third-party data vendor as a potential source of the problem.
In best case scenarios, third-party data can allow marketing teams to develop 360-degree understanding of their target customers. However, directing dollars towards the wrong third-party vendor can actually damage efforts to programmatically generate advertising messages. If your vendor’s insights are out-of-date, generated through poor data logic or clustering technique or inaccurate, your results could be worse than if you were solely reliant on first-party insights in your data management platform (DMP). In this blog, you’ll learn the differences between data types, and how the wrong vendor can lead your team astray.Understanding the Classes of Big Data
While sources and volume can vary significantly, there are a few terms commonly used to describe the origin of data that may be applied to a big data-driven marketing campaign. Understanding the following classifications can allow marketers to understand sources of risk in their marketing campaigns, and make the right choices about data acquisition at a large scale.1st Party Data: These insights are generated by your company’s web, mobile, and transactional records. Typically, these insights are the most accurate, and are housed in a data management platform (DMP), which is typically integrated with a CRM.3rd Party Data: These insights are obtained through an external data provider. The data is generally anonymized, and may be matched with your contacts in a data management platform. Vendor sources can vary significantly, but purchasing from a large-scale vendor can result in insights that are out-of-date and suffer from quality issues.

2nd-Party Data: These insights are among the most rare. 2nd-party data could originate from long-term data sharing agreements between organizations to continually combine and match profiles.

For many big data campaigns, the single biggest source of risk is 3rd-party data. When completing audience profiles with old or inaccurate insights, your audience profiles could be significantly diluted. Sources of risk in 3rd-party data quality can originate from the following factors:1. Sourcing Methods
Third-party data vendors often have “mountains of information” available, according to Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B). However, their sourcing methods can be a bit of a mystery, even to some external representatives of the organization.
In one case study, a 3rd-party data vendors classification of “new parents” proved 10-20% inaccurate, per D&B, because it was based on individuals who’d recently purchased a certain magazine subscription. In other cases, vendor’s sourcing is based solely on online browsing cookies.
Regardless, your marketing results could be questionable if you’re not able to quickly establish each of the following with a prospective data vendor:
● Where does the data come from?
● Does the data represent online and offline behaviors?
● Do you rely on multiple data points to build audience groups?2. Quality Assurance Methods
Quality assurance represents a major source of effort for data science teams. While purchasing third-party insights that are cleansed can provide convenience for marketing teams, your vendor’s quality standards need to be impeccable to yield gains.
Understanding your vendor’s approach to data verification, elimination of old data assets, and comparison is crucial. The best indication of data quality is results. Proof of recent conversions is the most objective way to measure third-party data assets.3. Refreshing Methods
Generally, most data vendors “refresh” their data assets on a periodic basis, by pulling new insights into their data management platform. For vendors that source from a variety of sources, these “refreshes” may occur very occasionally, such as every several months.
In a world where consumers have access to immediate purchases via mobile devices, recent data is crucial. Insights that accurately reflected your audience’s behavior three months ago are not accurate today. Unless your vendor’s data is updated in real-time, it’s out of data.BDEX: A New Approach to Real-Time Data Exchange
BDEX offers a first-of-it’s kind marketplace for real-time big data exchange. Instead of having to rely on third-party vendors to aggregate data from a variety of sources, brands are able to purchase insights directly from the source as they are generated. With objective, third-party scoring of conversions, prospective customers can gain peace of mind that the data is sufficiently high-quality to generate lift.
For more information on purchasing data via BDEX, click here.

When choosing a data service, businesses may consider factors including the amount and variety of data a provider offers. But the most important question always comes down to money: How much will this cost?

One Data Solution, One Price

DMPs are notorious for their steep monthly service fees, and while there are hundreds of online advertising platforms, most of them handle pricing based on a CPM, or cost per thousand, basis. And as we mentioned in one of our latest posts, it can be difficult to determine if the right consumers are noticing your ads.

Shop Our Marketplace

Whether your company needs email, mobile, or cookie-based data, BDEX has the tools to target consumers across all channels. And with over 780 billion data points and 5,500 categories, businesses of all kinds can find relevant data in our DXP.

Go Ahead, Hit Refresh

BDEX has an abundance of traditional audience and real-time data available. And unlike most online marketing services, BDEX separates the cost of the data from the ad. In other words, if your company buys data from us, it’s yours to keep. Use it once or multiple times without paying every time you publish a new campaign.

BDEX is helping businesses of all sizes, including franchises and dealerships, target and serve their customers. We offer a variety of services, from shopping cart retargeting to geofencing, to DaaS solutions. Learn more on our website or email us atinfo@bdex.com.

Businesses regularly use social media, search, and display ads to advertise their products and services. Every time a consumer sees the ad, an “impression” is created. Companies are then charged based on the numbers of impressions their ad receives. And while this service may be convenient, knowing how often those impressions turn into conversions can be a mystery.

“The main complaint advertisers have about PPI advertising is that it is difficult to know whether users notice your ads,” according to tech expert and writer David Weedmark. If your ads utilize only traditional audience data, you may not be targeting the right consumer. In other words, you’re paying every time someone sees your ad, even if that “someone” isn’t your target audience.

Another problem businesses face is the cost of data. Traditional DMPs and DSPs charge customers an audience data fee for every impression. Essentially those customers are paying for the same data over and over.

BDEX flips the online marketing model upside down. BDEX’s DaaS services streamline the digital marketing process, lowering the overall cost of campaigns. By separating the data cost from the audience cost, companies can reach more consumers without paying for every ad impression. And since BDEX customers own the data they buy, it can be used for one or a hundred campaigns at no additional cost.

In addition to their cost-effectiveness, DaaS services are flexible and personalized to meet your company’s needs. For a fixed monthly fee, auto dealers, franchises and other businesses can get the solutions they need without expensive upfront or fees.